Doing what we want… In His Word 10-06-14



 When we are children we think that when we grow up we can do what we want. Once we get here we realize of course that it isn’t so, sometimes it takes a few wrong turns to find the right one in life when we are doing what we want.
Saul of Tarsus was born a Roman citizen. This fact gave him many privileges that others did not have. Today some might say he had it made! Born a Roman, educated, something that was reserved for the elite or obviously receptive to certain areas of learning we would call it "gifted" today. 


“Brethren and fathers, hear my defense before you now.”  And when they heard that he spoke to them in the Hebrew language, they kept all the more silent.
Then he said:  “I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers’ law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today.  I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women,  as also the high priest bears me witness, and all the council of the elders, from whom I also received letters to the brethren, and went to Damascus to bring in chains even those who were there to Jerusalem to be punished.”
 “Now it happened, as I journeyed and came near Damascus at about noon, suddenly a great light from heaven shone around me.  And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’  So I answered, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’” Acts 22:1-8
He grew up thinking he was doing the right thing, doing what he wanted to do to please God even; but he was wrong and full of selfish gain. He began to kill off those whom he thought were against God, and Rome gave him the permission to do so for their pleasure and reasons.
God saw this man’s heart, I believe, and chose to take away his human vision so that he could see spiritually. Once this happened Saul, whom we know as Paul the Apostle of Christ, became one of the most used by God men in the Word of God.
Sometimes we look at things  thinking we are doing the right thing, or what we think is right in our eyes; we have decided that we have good intentions a so we run with it, but God has a different plan for us. When this is the case we need to stop doing whatever we think is right and stop to ask His direction to be made clear because if we don’t we too may become ‘blinded by the Light’ in order to see what His plan is.
I don’t know about you but I truly hate it when that happens!
When we are going along at a swift pace adding things to our list of to do’s because we think we are doing what ‘we should do’ and suddenly we are hit with the reality of our humanness; we have to stop trying to be God and make choices that are not for us to make. We can’t fix every thing or everyone around us; only God can. I don’t care how much we claim we are putting our trust in God and doing the work He would have us do if it is not His plan it will fail.
To be honest with oneself is the first step to fixing the problem we create when we go against what God’s plan is because we think we know the thing to do. Often it’s just because we think we are capable to help someone with a problem, but God had another person or place for that need to be filled through. We mean well but it’s not where we were supposed to be.
So how do we know?
We can look for signs and wonders. The people in the Bible did this a lot. They would ask God to show them things, which would prove it was Him, a fleece prayer they call that thanks to Gideon. (Judges 6)
Or we can pray asking God to take away the person from the picture even, and send someone else to come in to help Esther helped in this type of prayer with the would be killer of God’s people. (The book of Esther)
Whatever we do to decide, if its right or wrong, we have to walk in our decision. If we decided that things need to stop, then we need to accept our failures and not try to make it work any more, but let God provide the answer. When we keep walking where we know God has told us not to go then we are disobeying Him; things will start getting rough if we are disobeying God.
The Children of Israel had to wander in the dessert for 40 years because of their disbelief, and disobedience. I don’t know about you but I want to do what God wants not just what I think is the right thing to do. I only trust God to direct my path because Teresa trips a lot!
Things that I trip on are pride, ignoring the signs I am given, ignoring truthful statements, and physical things that slow me down. Sometimes God will use situations to bring out the things that are hindering us from obeying His Word and following what He tells us to do.  Other times we try to twist the word to meet what we want, Saul tried to use God as an excuse to try to wipe out the Christians of his day. Jesus stopped him in his tracks with blindness. 
I don’t want a physical problem to emphasize God’s point to me, do you?
Dear Heavenly Father, write the words clear to us today. Help us to get the job done that You want us to do but not to accept things you do not plan for us to walk in. Let it truly be said that ‘our steps are ordered of the Lord’ and let us walk only in them. In Jesus name, amen.

Suggested Reading: Acts 22:1- 30, Judges 6:1-40, Romans 13:1-14, and Nehemiah 9:1-38.